Butterscotch Pull Apart

Butterscotch pull-apart, often called monkey bread, is the kind of weekend breakfast that turns heads when it lands in the middle of the table. Frozen dough rolls get tumbled in melted margarine and a butterscotch-pudding-and-cinnamon coating, then layered over brown sugar and walnuts in a bundt pan.

The shortcut is the genius. Instant butterscotch pudding mix isn’t pre-made pudding here. It’s the dry powder, used like a flavored sugar. Mixed with brown sugar and cinnamon, it gives every roll a sweet, caramelly coating that melts during baking into a sticky bottom glaze.

Thawing the dough is the only part that takes patience. The rolls need a full hour to rise in a warm spot until they reach just under the rim of the pan. Underrisen dough comes out dense and tough, no matter how good the topping is.

Flipping the pan immediately after baking is what creates the showstopper. Wait too long and the brown sugar bottom layer hardens into a stubborn caramel that won’t release.

Pro Tips

• Grease the bundt pan generously, including the center tube. The sugar caramelizes hard and sticks if any spot is missed.
• Use room-temperature melted margarine or butter. Cold dough dipped in hot fat won’t coat evenly.
• Press the rolls in lightly when arranging. They merge as they rise and form that signature pull-apart texture.
• Serve warm. The sticky topping firms up as the bread cools, so it’s best in the first hour out of the oven.

Variations

• Swap butterscotch pudding for vanilla or chocolate pudding mix for a different flavor profile.
• Use pecans instead of walnuts for a sweeter, more Southern flavor.
• Add raisins or chopped dates between the rolls for fruit-studded layers.